You can call me Ella. You generally assign me a whole host of other preposterous monikers. I think the least imaginative name I’ve heard is “the devil”, but I’ll answer to it if I must.
After making the courageous decision to leave her abusive husband, Perdie and her three young children start over and finally find the safety and love they deserve. But years later, when tragedy strikes, Perdie is left wondering if the choice she made to leave has led them to this moment.
If she were given the opportunity to take it all back and stay, would she?
In a frantic bid to protect her family, Perdie makes a deal to do just that. But in a world where the devil pulls the strings, can Perdie really change the past?
Brimming with enlightened observations and brilliant voice, Idle Hands is a haunting examination of grief, resilience, and what we’d give to spend another moment with the ones we love.
Perdie decides to leave her abusive husband. To begin with, it’s hard on her and her three children, Hannah, Rachel and Tad but eventually, the family finds some of the happiness that they have previously missed out on.
That is, until ten years later, tragedy strikes.
This book fascinated me from the first page to the last word. So much so that I read it across one day.
I found Perdie such a frustrating but compelling character. I wanted her to be OK but at the same time, I wanted to scream through the pages at her. She is broken and at times, I struggled to have sympathy with her. However, I could not relate to her on the physical abuse and it’s hard to know how I would react in that situation. Whatever she chose, she was potentially in a no win situation and that’s a horrible circumstance to be in. She was certainly a character of many layers who wanted to do the best for her children.
The plot very cleverly explores the question of ‘what if’ as well as family, love and friendship. It’s all woven into a strong, heartbreaking story that I knew was going to have an effect on me from the moment I began to read. The majority of us have probably, at some point said ‘I would give anything to spend some more time with..,’ or ‘I wish I had more time.’ This book has a unique perspective on that.
byNovel Kicks is a blog for story tellers and book lovers.